T3 Walking barcodes T3 Walking barcodes In today’s post-Cambridge Analytica era, public backlash is Economic Forum involving a broad public private consortium a serious risk. It’s essential to learn from mistakes made in the of experts and stakeholders, focused on the future of good digital environment when developing new products and digital identity. services. In particular, privacy concerns and consent must be addressed more seriously as, with biometric data, any hack or How soon will we use facial recognition to open front doors, security breach risks permanently compromising the individual gym lockers and then approve ATM cash withdrawals? What – you can change a password, but not your fingerprint. can we do with other forms of body recognition? For example, tracking the speed at which the elderly move around their Understanding human behavior will create opportunities environments, or using machine learning to look for tell-tale and help overcome challenges. Organizations will need to signs of frailty. understand how to design opt-out in the real world, how to ethically shape people’s activities, and any associated concerns Capitalizing on Walking barcodes will not be easy. Increasingly, and constraints. In China, use of beauty filters is so common we’ll live in environments powered by intelligent, automated there’s a name for it: internet celebrity face. After research showed systems that access our data to learn about our behaviors. people felt ugly when scanning their face using facial recognition As this becomes more common, we’ll notice a decline in technology, Alipay added filters to its “Smile to Pay” system. screen-based interaction, such as via a kiosk, so organizations will need to factor this in when designing services. People Though we’ve been monitored by CCTV for decades, it’s been will need a tangible indicator that they’ve handed over some of statically and silently embedded, so it hasn’t felt intrusive. their information – performing the function of the barcode Once we start interacting with physical environments that can reader’s beep at the store. This could mean re-directing energy recognize us or personalize to our wants and needs, we’ll toward designing meaningful human moments instead of become more aware that our environment is watching us. transactional stop-gaps, and making the invisible handing over Inevitably, this will change how we perceive ourselves and of data worthwhile for all people feeding the machine. our actions. Imagine the ability to see (and share) a video edit of your day – your best moments at work and at play? And if you think you’re starring in your own movie, how will that change your behavior? This may be especially important in the workplace and lead to better but also possibly artificial behaviors. Though some people will be concerned about being recognized by a public machine, with many smartphone users now Use of beauty filters has become such a comfortable with facial recognition in their hands, it’s likely that popular phenomenon in China, it has a name: many will come to accept it – especially when they understand “internet celebrity face”. what they’ll get in return. With voice, simple things like asking for the time or the weather helped drive rapid uptake. What will be the equivalent for facial recognition? The world’s airports are starting to introduce biometrics in their security checks, including the UK’s Gatwick Airport, which recently became the country’s first airport to confirm it will permanently use facial recognition cameras for pre-flight ID checks. In China, Chengdu Shuangliu Airport now automatically presents a traveler with up-to-date personalized information when they approach a screen. There’s growing momentum in self-managed identity solutions that enable people to take control over the information they share, with whom and for how long – including the ability to revoke access. This is the focus of a key initiative at the World 43 44